What do you get when you mix the classic 3D collectathon gameplay of Banjo-Kazooie with a traditional 2D Mario platformer? Promenade, a beautifully crafted Indie gem by France’s Holy Cap Studio.
I love Indie games. Each week I scroll through the various digital stores to see what new goodies have been released. As my bleary eyes wandered across the thousands of games on the Nintendo eShop, Promenade’s striking art style immediately caught my eye. I barely made it through the description before hitting the purchase button! A 2D platformer with the 3D exploration? Sign me up.
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Little did I know, I would find something so engrossing that it would have me hooked for the whole twelve hour adventure.
Boy and Octopus
Promenade tells a simple tale. A boy named Nemo falls down a dark cavern into a pool of water. Unable to swim, he is saved by a small octopus called Poulp and they quickly become friends. After a nap and a quick high five, the duo begin their adventure towards ‘The Great Elevator’.
They meet an unusual and scary looking creature, resembling both Nemo and Poulp, who uses his evil power to shatter the elevator and send it’s cogs flying across the world. The two must work together – in true Banjo-Kazooie style – to find the cogs, re-power The Great Elevator, and save the world!
The Great Elevator and beyond
Clearly taking inspiration from classic Mario games, Promenade is a clever mix of 2D platforming and open ended exploration. Just like in any 3D collectathon, you look for cogs, this games version of jiggies or power stars, throughout eleven worlds. The more cogs you find the further you can progress.
The Great Elevator acts as this game’s hub-world and just like Princess Peach’s castle in Mario 64, you can find hidden cogs here too. Each world has its own theme; the beach, space, caves, a haunted house, and even an airship… Pretty typical for this kind of game.
That’s how you use an Octopus?
Poulp and Nemo work together to traverse the 2D world by jumping, double jumping and rolling. The double jump in this game is unique. Nemo can throw Poulp at enemies, grabbing and throwing them down for a second vertical boost, similar to how Klonoa does in his games. In fact, he can pick up many different things in the world to help solve puzzles and climb to great heights.
The double jump is one of three new skills you gain throughout the game, growing your arsenal as you progress. The ability that allows Poulp to hold one extra item seriously comes in handy, and the grappling hook takes exploration vertically.
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Never have I felt like exploring a 2D world as much as I did in Promenade. The game gives you permission to find cogs in any order but also provides guidance, for those who need it, in the form of a “cog” checklist. It was exciting to discover and solve many unique puzzles to then be rewarded with the customary cute jingle, ala Super Mario Galaxy. One moment you are reuniting long lost snail lovers, the next you’re speed running through a challenging platforming section.
Elevating to beautiful heights
Promenade’s art style is absolutely gorgeous, with bright colourful levels and well designed characters and enemies. The game runs at a silky smooth 60 frames per second on the Switch with no hiccups in sight. From rolling around and jumping, to enemies wincing when attacked, you can tell the developers have taken the time to put life into their character animations. My heart melted every time Nemo and Poulp would cuddle during a mid-adventure nap.
One small gripe I have is with the lack of enemy variety. The designs are mostly the same across each world, with only some small modifications in place. Considering there are many different environments, it would have been cool to see some more variation on the standard enemies.
The games bosses looked good overall but, apart from the final boss, were a little bland.
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Nostalgic heart strings pulled
Something that was unexpected but truly enjoyable were the mini-games. At the end of certain levels, a retro inspired mini-game would unlock. Promenade’s take on classics like Pong, Space Invaders and Brick Breaker definitely pulled on this old guy’s heart strings.
While the mini-games were a nice little distraction from the main quest, it would have been nice to have online leaderboards to give you an incentive to come back and play them over and over again.
Cogs in a machine
Apart from having over 140 cogs to find across the game there are other hidden secrets deviously placed for the hardcore detectives. On top of this, there are speed run challenges across some of the hardest platforming sections of the game. It also prods the player to find all the cogs in the world within a certain time limit.
To 100% this game you will need to use all your skills to precisely platform your way to the end.
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Achieving great heights
Promenade is an exceptional 2D platformer that continually pushes you to explore the beautifully designed world. With tight controls and plenty to find, this game will fulfill your 3D collectathon desires. The story may be sparse but that doesn’t take away from the close bond the dynamic duo form throughout their adventure. With all its charm and pure joy I highly recommend this incredible indie gem!
It’s out now on all platforms. Are you ready to take a stroll down this delightful Promenade?
